Strange friend, past, present, and to be;
Loved deeplier, darklier, understood;
Behold, I dream a dream of good,
And mingle all the world with thee. - Tennyson

Friday, May 19, 2006

Christmas in May!

I tend to shop online from time to time, so when I get a call or a note from the front desk notifying us that there's a package up front, I usually have no clue what it might be. I was pleasantly surprised to pick up a package the other day!

It had been up there for awhile, but I finally got some race gear. See.. earlier this year, I entered a 'contest' a few months back and 'won'. What was the contest? Well, it was a chance to earn 'sponsorship' and be one of only 200 members of the Team Aquaphor/Active.com. What's in the deal? Well, there's where it's more like I'm a walking billboard than it is 'sponsorship'.

The package included a bunch of really nice Eucerin and Aquaphor products as well as a hat, shorts, couple shirts and a tri kit - shorts, sports bra, and tank. The deal is that I have to do a minimum of X races this year and I have to wear as least one article of their clothing in every race. Not a big deal. I have to submit race results and give a testimonial about using Aquaphor. Not a big deal. One reason why I applied is because I am an active user of the product and it has worked well for me for rough feet, elbows.. chapped lips, as well as chaffing on the back of my neck from my wetsuit.

I think one of the main reasons why I was chosen is because I'm active in our triathlon club, I live in a big city (media), and have a good opportunity to spread the word about the product and advertise. That's where I look at it as more of an ad campaign than sponsorship. At least I don't have to walk around wearing a sandwich board. I can earn money if I'm quoted in a paper saying something about Active.com and/or Aquaphor or if my picture is printed showing me wearing some of the gear they provided. The larger the circulation of the paper, the more money I can earn. Again, not a big deal.. and I'm not in it for the money.